The present invention relates generally to personal computers and in particular the present invention relates to a paging system using a stationary personal computer.
Modern communications systems allow individuals to receive and communicate information virtually anywhere on the planet. Communication devices such as cellular telephones and pagers, for example, allow individuals to be contacted and communicated with from most geographic locations. Paging devices, as known to those skilled in the art, receive wireless communications intended to provide information to a user. That is, paging signals traditionally include a telephone number which the page recipient is requested to call. More advanced paging signals include alphanumeric messages which provide more detailed instructions to the receiver. Further, two-way paging systems are available wherein the receiving user has an opportunity to provide a response to the received page. Typically, a pager is portable and constructed to have a pocket sized package.
With the continued advancement of portable computers, page receiving circuitry can be provided to allow the portable computer to receive wireless paging signals and notify a user of the computer. This system allows the user to receive page communications without carrying two devices, the portable computer and a paging device. The present systems are based on a premise that a location of a recipient of a page is unknown. Thus, flexibility is provided to allow the receiving unit mobility.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a more flexible communication system.
The above mentioned problems with communication systems and other problems are addressed by the present invention and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.
In one embodiment, the present invention describes a system for processing wireless paging signals comprising a stationary computer comprising a processor, a receiver circuit for receiving and decoding the wireless paging signals, and a memory for storing paging instructions for processing the received paging signals. The processor executes the paging instructions to forward the received paging signals to an external device.
In another embodiment, a method of processing wireless paging signals is described. The method comprises receiving a page signal with a stationary base computer, and decoding the page signal, wherein the page signal comprises data. The data is forwarded to an external receiving device in response to instructions executed by the stationary base computer.
In yet another embodiment, a method is described for controlling a base processor comprising a page signal receiver, an instruction set, and an output communication device. The method comprises receiving a page signal with the page signal receiver. The page signal comprises instruction data. The base processor executes the instruction set in response to the received page signal instruction data.